Amp for Kappa 9s

stereofanboy

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I've read that these speakers are real amp killers. What are some amps that are known to be able to take the load?

Are there any Yamahas? The MX-1, maybe?

Rotel?

Adcom?
 
I recently asked the same question about the 9's I am getting and it would seem that a Crown Macrotech 2400 or 2402 would be a good match. thats what I am gonna go with for mine.
 
AmpS, as in plural.

You want Krell or Threshold blocks. Best to go with Krell that has 1 or 2 ohm rating.
 
The Kappa 9 in extended mode presents a load that's under 1 Ohm, so many amps struggle to drive them (or just explode). Some amps that are capable of driving them are the already mentioned Krells and Thresholds. Some of the bigger Classé's can drive the Kappa's, the Aragon 4004 (mk II) and I've heard the Adcom GFA 555II do a wonderful job on the Infinity's.
I've also read Plinius and H2O amps will drive the Kappa's, but I never actually heard that combination.
 
No Yamahas.

Unless the amp has the heat sinks outside and huge toroidal transformer and beer can caps, its not meant to even try drive the Kappa 9s.
 
Both of the Yamaha's previously mentioned are rated for 2 ohm loads and are built like brick sh*thouses. I am not a Yamaha fanboy, I just happened to get good prices on both of those amps and they're laterally comparable to Adcom GFA-555's and drive my RSII's perfectly well although I've heard the Kappa 9's are more brutal.
 
I wouldn't buy either Yamaha M-80 or Adcom GFA-555 for Kappa 9s.

Krell or Threshold. You want a cuban cigar for the Kappa 9s, not nicotine patches.
 
Bi-amping with either a pair of the Yammies or Adcoms will work just fine... test drove them on mine... I just happen to prefer the Krells and Aragons...
 
Barring a bizarrely good deal, the likes of Krell, Threshold and Plinius aren't in my near future.

I mentioned Yamahas because I have an MX-1, and have had an M-80 and a couple of M-70s and I liked them all. I tried all of these on my RS IIs with no problem, although those speakers drove my AU-919 with the big caps into protection.

I mentioned Rotel because I read a magazine review from years ago that said that Rotel's RB-1090 was stable to below 2 ohms. Although they were a couple of grand new, used ones seem to be going for less than half of that, now.

I mentioned Adcom because the original owner of these speakers drove them with the same Adcom amp throughout a couple of decades without any problems. Unfortunately, he sold the amp before meeting me, and doesn't recall the exact model of Adcom that he had.

I looked up the Crowns named by jdwk and they seem to be up to the task, although I notice that more than one of the eBay sellers offering them seem to be a little questionable.
 
I have other ideas that I think might be a good match for the Kappa's as my thoughts on it are not amps that will drive them, but amps that will present a musical presentation, not a welder if you know what I am saying.

My would like to try list, would be MC2301 which is a 300 watt single channel tube amp using two of these for the hi frequency range in a bi amp configuration with a pair of the MC601's or larger for the bass drivers.

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Products/pages/ProductListingHorizontal.aspx?CatId=amplifiers

Another consideration is the Audio Research Reference 600 mono blocks, which I think would be capable full range. If 600 watts of tube power per amp doesn't make the Kappa 9's sing with a heart, I don't think I want to own them. There is a couple of pairs of these amps on the auction site for some time, I only wish I had the extra resources.

My least expensive idea would be a pair of complete rebuilt pair of Phase Linear 700b's using the White Oak PC boards with new double cap kits and the speaker rely protection. This is something I am going to work on in the future since I have a large rack of PL gear, the only problem I have is I own the series II gear which is not compatible with the new boards or relays, last I knew. So first I need to purchase a pair of the amps and pull out all my series II amps.
 
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Another amp to throw in the ring, (I am not personally a fan, but I respect them) is Bryston...

But then again, I don't like McIntosh for anything... so take that for what it's worth...
 
Both of the Yamaha's previously mentioned are rated for 2 ohm loads and are built like brick sh*thouses. I am not a Yamaha fanboy, I just happened to get good prices on both of those amps and they're laterally comparable to Adcom GFA-555's and drive my RSII's perfectly well although I've heard the Kappa 9's are more brutal.

Just for the record, here is the impedence curve of a Kappa 9 in extended mode... and yes they are brutal...

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee436/fhawk618/Kappa9Impedence.jpg
 
I have often wondered what a pair of those Bogen MO200's would do. Those old Bogen amps were made for commercial duty, they are a tube amp, and I am not sure that the low impendence drop would be a problem for it. It would be interesting to see just how they would cope with the Kappa's.
 
Don't forget Carver Sunfire amps!
They are extremely good.
AND work well with my Apogee Scintilla's 1 Ohm version!! They drop to around 0,8 Ohm.
 
Don't forget Carver Sunfire amps!
They are extremely good.
AND work well with my Apogee Scintilla's 1 Ohm version!! They drop to around 0,8 Ohm.

any particular sunfire? there is more than one model.
 
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